Shares of U.S. Steel Corp. X, +2.17% rose more than 4% in the extended session Thursday after the producer reported profit and sales above Wall Street expectations and said that it was “bullish” about its outlook, with other industries picking up the slack of slowing-down sectors. U.S. Steel said it earned $978 million, or $3.42 a share, compared with $1.01 billion, or $3.52 a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, the company earned $3.86 a share. Sales rose to $6.3 billion from $5.03 billion a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet expected U.S. Steel to report adjusted earnings of $3.65 a share on sales of $5.8 billion. “We are bullish on U. S. Steel’s future,” Chief Executive Officer David B. Burritt said in a statement. “While some consumer-oriented markets like automotive and appliance are softer, line pipe and energy demand is accelerating,” Burritt said. U.S. Steel also announced a new $500 million stock buyback on Thursday. Shares of U.S. Steel ended the regular trading day up 2.2%.
